Why not use him as a 3rd down back

Let Henderson and Brown (when he's back) spilt early down carries and bring Gurley in for 3rd downs. He's good as pass blocking, runs good routes, is tall, and makes tough catches (most of the time). He's still a matchup nightmare for a LB to cover. Gives you and extra receiving threat.

You could say - he's making too much to be a 3rd down back, but that's irrelevant now. The money is spent - how they use him going forward is up to the coaches.